John Greenleaf Whittier once wrote, “For all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, ‘It might have been.’” Those words are the sad commentary on many a life. People start with such great promise and have such golden opportunities. But they make the wrong choices and miss their opportunities and so never reach their potential. Their...
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A little girl came to her mother one day and said, “Mother, what is God like?” The mother was cooking in the kitchen and didn’t have time to talk to her, so she said, “Ask your father.” The girl went to her father, “Father, what is God like?” And he answered gruffly from behind the paper, not wanting to be disturbed, “As...
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When Dr. Samuel Johnson was ill with his last illness, he asked if doctors would tell him honestly if he could recover. The doctor said that he could not recover without a miracle. “Then,” said Johnson, “I will take no more [medicine], not even opiates, for I have prayed that I may render up my soul to God unclouded.” When Jesus arrived at Golg...
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Golgotha is an Aramaic word that means “the place of the skull.” Today a bus depot stands beneath it. It is almost ironic that the smell of carbon monoxide, the sound of honking horns, and the sight of short tempers should surround the place where Jesus died. It was for people like this and things like this that he died in the first place.
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I like the story about the fellow who died and appeared before St. Peter at the gates of heaven. He said, “I’ve come to get in.” And St. Peter said, “You can only get in here by the point system, and it takes a thousand points to get in.” Well, that’s no hill for a stepper, so he said, “I think I can make it. I was active in m...
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Dr. Emil Grubbe was a pioneer in the use of x-ray technology for the treatment of cancer patients. In fact in 1896 he was the first physician ever to use an x-ray beam in the treatment of a cancer patient. Because of Emil Grubbe, even though you may have never heard of him, many of you have found hope for a new life and an extended life because of what x-ray technolog...
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On New Year’s Day in 1929 California was playing Georgia Tech in the Rose Bowl. And Georgia Tech was marching for a touchdown when the ball was fumbled. A California player named Roy Riegels picked it up and he lost his sense of direction. And instead of running toward his opponent’s goal line he turned and started running toward his own goal line and he r...
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I was in Mineola visiting with Marc about a book we are working on together. And he was showing me his computer. And he was putting something on the screen and he made a mistake and he pushed a button and it erased all of it. And he said to me, “That’s the undo button.” And I looked over and sure enough right there on the button was “undo.&rdqu...
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We are like the lady who went to a photographer to have her picture made. When she viewed the proofs she expressed her displeasure to the photographer saying, “These pictures don’t do me justice.” The photographer replied, “Lady, you don’t need justice, you need mercy.” That’s the way it is with all of us. None of us wants to...
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